The Chuck ToddCast

Chuck Todd opens with the resolution of a story he's been tracking for weeks: Graham Platner cruised to victory in Maine, comfortably clearing 70% even with Janet Mills' name still on the ballot — which he says means the scandals that had Platner in "save my campaign" mode turned out to be far less than a five-alarm fire. The deeper lesson, Chuck argues, is uncomfortable but revealing: for a significant share of Democratic primary voters, high character has become a luxury item, because the base is so exhausted by losing and capitulating to the establishment that it will forgive a flawed candidate who actually seems willing to fight. He notes that Maine has gotten meaningfully bluer since Susan Collins was last on the ballot (Harris underperformed nationally but actually drew more raw votes in Maine than Biden did), that a generic Democrat should win this seat by six or seven points, and that the only real question left is how many squeamish Democrats sit the race out rather than pull the lever for Platner. He runs through the rest of the night — Lindsey Graham narrowly avoided a runoff in South Carolina, the GOP gubernatorial race there is headed to a runoff that knocked out both Nancy Mace and Ralph Norman — and pulls back to identify the defining theme of the entire 2026 cycle: everyone, in both parties, is running on a message of change, with no candidate anywhere running on restoration the way Biden did in 2020. The messaging this cycle is relentlessly future-focused, the exact opposite of Trump's nostalgia, and Chuck reiterates his running observation that the worst possible first name to have in politics right now is "congressman" — because Washington experience carries zero value to voters this cycle. The split-screen between the parties remains stark: Republican voters still reward confrontation while Democratic primary voters are gravitating toward electability and consensus, Democratic turnout is rising while GOP turnout is flat or falling, and the throughline that's held for a decade is only intensifying — voters are demanding major change, and they'll punish anyone who doesn't offer it.
Finally, Chuck updates his ToddCast Top 5 list of senate seats most likely to flip parties and answers listeners’ questions in the “Ask Chuck” segment.
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Timeline:
(Timestamps may vary based on advertisements)
00:00 Chuck Todd’s introduction
03:15 Graham Platner cruised to victory will Janet Mills still on the ballot
04:15 Platner comfortably cleared 70%, it’s not a five alarm fire
05:45 Will there be more scandals from Platner? If so, what type?
06:30 For some primary voters, high character is a luxury item
08:15 The Democratic base is tired of losing & capitulating to establishment
08:45 A Platner election victory could change perception of the Democrats
10:30 Maine has gotten bluer since the last time Collins was on the ballot
11:30 Harris underperformed nationally, but had more raw vote in Maine than Biden
13:30 How many Dems will sit out the race rather than vote for Platner?
15:00 A generic Dem should win this race by 6-7 points
16:00 Lindsey Graham manages to avoid a runoff
16:45 South Carolina GOP gubernatorial race headed to runoff
17:15 Nancy Mace and Ralph Norman didn’t make the runoff
18:30 Everybody running in 2026 is running on a message of change
19:30 There’s no message of restoration similar to Biden’s campaign
20:30 Messaging is more future focused, the opposite of Trump
21:30 The worst first name to have in politics is congressman
24:45 Washington experience won’t carry value to voters this cycle
26:00 GOP voters still seemingly reward confrontation
27:00 Dem primary voters looking to electability/consensus candidates
28:45 Dem turnout on the rise, GOP turnout stagnant or down
29:30 For the past decade, voters are demanding major change
35:15 ToddCast Top 5 senate seats most likely to flip
36:30 More senate seats are creeping to “in play” status
38:45 #1 North Carolina
40:30 #2 Ohio
43:30 #3 Michigan
47:00 #4 Iowa
50:00 #5 Maine
55:00 Ask Chuck
55:15 Could politicians' investments be limited by law to index funds?
57:00 Correction on Jeri Ryan’s Star Trek series
58:30 If candidates like Platner and El-Sayed lose, could progressives change course?
1:04:30 Will Trump’s disciples try to be too much like him once he leaves politics?
1:08:15 Are you seeing a real shift in coverage from CBS News?
1:13:30 Thoughts on Brendan Soresby being reinstated after gambling on himself
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lauren Pinkston — the independent candidate for governor of Tennessee — joins the Chuck Toddcast to make the case that the deepest problem in her state isn't left versus right, it's the near-total absence of two-party competition that has allowed one-party rule to calcify into something genuinely unhealthy. Pinkston, who was raised in an evangelical environment where she was taught that voting Democrat meant going to hell, offers a fascinating personal and political journey: she lived in communist Laos where people were persecuted for their faith, which gave her a firsthand understanding of why the Founders deliberately kept Christianity out of the Constitution, and she's now running explicitly against the kind of Christian nationalism that teaches America was divinely ordained. She argues Citizens United is a major reason Tennessee became so uncompetitive, walks through the mechanical difficulties of mounting a serious independent campaign, and contends that Marsha Blackburn isn't nearly as strong a candidate as she thinks she is.
The conversation digs into Pinkston's actual governing vision and her theory of how an independent can build a winning coalition in one of the reddest states in the country. She wants to reform education and make teaching a genuinely fun profession again, and she's passionate about the way Nashville soaks up all the state's political investment while Memphis gets neglected — pointing out that crime in Memphis is at a 20-year low yet the city still can't attract investment, and that St. Jude is struggling to recruit talent because of H1-B visa denials. Pinkston is candid about the structural obstacles: Tennessee's constitution doesn't even allow for ballot measures, the GOP holds a stranglehold on the statehouse, and Republican leadership has been kicking moderate candidates off the ballot entirely. But she argues there's a real opening — Republicans in the state are looking for an offramp that isn't a Democrat, and even staunch Democrats are frustrated with their own party. Pinkston is energized about working with the Working Families Party and the Forward Party to build toward a more moderate, genuinely competitive two-party system, argues this is the strongest group of independent candidates to run in years, and wonders aloud whether being "too educated" has perversely become a negative quality in a candidate. She closes with a sharp observation that cuts to the heart of the whole project: Americans demand more than two options for literally everything in their lives except politics, politicians increasingly rely on performance over substance, and the stakes couldn't be higher.
Link in bio or go to https://getsoul.com & enter code TODDCAST for 30% off your first order.
Protect your family with life insurance from Ethos. Get up to $3 million in coverage in as little as 10 minutes at https://ethos.com/chuck. Application times may vary. Rates may vary.
Timeline:
(Timestamps may vary based on advertisements)
00:00 Lauren Pinkston joins the Chuck ToddCast
01:00 Why run for governor as an independent?
02:15 There’s a lack of two party competition in Tennessee
04:00 Some of the barriers for an insurgent candidacy have been removed
06:00 Citizen’s United was a big reason for TN becoming uncompetitive
06:45 Lauren was raised to feel that voting Dem meant going to hell
08:45 Politics has courted the evangelical vote & leaders for decades
09:30 Jimmy Carter’s pure faith made it harder for him to govern
10:15 Churches teach nationalism & that America was ordained by god
11:15 Founders specifically didn’t put christianity & religion into the constitution
12:15 Lauren lived in communist Laos, where people were persecuted for their faith
13:15 The mechanical difficulties of running as an independent
14:30 Businesses afraid to support a non-Republican candidate in TN
16:00 Democratic opponent has been receiving calls to drop out
17:15 Any chance Marsha Blackburn isn’t the GOP nominee?
18:00 Blackburn isn’t as strong of a candidate as she thinks she is
18:30 Three leading candidates are white women with colors in their name
20:00 What big ideas are you proposing that you hope stick with voters?
20:30 Want to reform education and make it a fun field for teachers to work
22:00 Nashville gets all the political support and Memphis gets neglected
22:45 Crime is at a 20 year low in Memphis, but it still doesn’t get investment
23:45 St. Jude struggling to recruit due to denial of H1-B visas
24:15 How would you govern with a Republican stranglehold on the statehouse?
25:00 State constitution doesn’t even allow for ballot measures
25:45 Need to invest in Chief Information Officers are the county level
27:15 Attracting support from disaffected Democrats and Republicans
29:45 There’s a deep history of good governance out of east Tennessee
31:00 Need leaders and not party puppets
32:00 GOP leadership in the state has kicked moderate candidates off the ballot
33:00 Republicans in the state are looking for an offramp that isn’t a Democrat
33:30 What does your winning coalition look like?
35:45 Can you succeed without winning?
36:15 Want to give people an onramp to political engagement
37:30 Excited about working with WFP and Forward Party
38:00 Want to create a more moderate two party system
39:45 Strongest group of independent candidates running in years
40:45 Possible that being too educated will be a negative quality in a candidate
42:15 Voter turnout is pretty low in both Nashville and Memphis
44:00 Even the most staunch Democrats are frustrated with their party
45:15 It will be hard to get either opponent to agree to a debate
47:15 People demand more than two options for everything except politics
49:15 Politicians rely more on performance now than substance
51:00 People will die if governing isn’t taken seriously
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chuck Todd opens with the resolution of a story he's been tracking for weeks: Graham Platner cruised to victory in Maine, comfortably clearing 70% even with Janet Mills' name still on the ballot — which he says means the scandals that had Platner in "save my campaign" mode turned out to be far less than a five-alarm fire. The deeper lesson, Chuck argues, is uncomfortable but revealing: for a significant share of Democratic primary voters, high character has become a luxury item, because the base is so exhausted by losing and capitulating to the establishment that it will forgive a flawed candidate who actually seems willing to fight. He notes that Maine has gotten meaningfully bluer since Susan Collins was last on the ballot (Harris underperformed nationally but actually drew more raw votes in Maine than Biden did), that a generic Democrat should win this seat by six or seven points, and that the only real question left is how many squeamish Democrats sit the race out rather than pull the lever for Platner. He runs through the rest of the night — Lindsey Graham narrowly avoided a runoff in South Carolina, the GOP gubernatorial race there is headed to a runoff that knocked out both Nancy Mace and Ralph Norman — and pulls back to identify the defining theme of the entire 2026 cycle: everyone, in both parties, is running on a message of change, with no candidate anywhere running on restoration the way Biden did in 2020. The messaging this cycle is relentlessly future-focused, the exact opposite of Trump's nostalgia, and Chuck reiterates his running observation that the worst possible first name to have in politics right now is "congressman" — because Washington experience carries zero value to voters this cycle. The split-screen between the parties remains stark: Republican voters still reward confrontation while Democratic primary voters are gravitating toward electability and consensus, Democratic turnout is rising while GOP turnout is flat or falling, and the throughline that's held for a decade is only intensifying — voters are demanding major change, and they'll punish anyone who doesn't offer it.
Then, Lauren Pinkston — the independent candidate for governor of Tennessee — joins the Chuck Toddcast to make the case that the deepest problem in her state isn't left versus right, it's the near-total absence of two-party competition that has allowed one-party rule to calcify into something genuinely unhealthy. Pinkston, who was raised in an evangelical environment where she was taught that voting Democrat meant going to hell, offers a fascinating personal and political journey: she lived in communist Laos where people were persecuted for their faith, which gave her a firsthand understanding of why the Founders deliberately kept Christianity out of the Constitution, and she's now running explicitly against the kind of Christian nationalism that teaches America was divinely ordained. She argues Citizens United is a major reason Tennessee became so uncompetitive, walks through the mechanical difficulties of mounting a serious independent campaign, and contends that Marsha Blackburn isn't nearly as strong a candidate as she thinks she is.
The conversation digs into Pinkston's actual governing vision and her theory of how an independent can build a winning coalition in one of the reddest states in the country. She wants to reform education and make teaching a genuinely fun profession again, and she's passionate about the way Nashville soaks up all the state's political investment while Memphis gets neglected — pointing out that crime in Memphis is at a 20-year low yet the city still can't attract investment, and that St. Jude is struggling to recruit talent because of H1-B visa denials. Pinkston is candid about the structural obstacles: Tennessee's constitution doesn't even allow for ballot measures, the GOP holds a stranglehold on the statehouse, and Republican leadership has been kicking moderate candidates off the ballot entirely. But she argues there's a real opening — Republicans in the state are looking for an offramp that isn't a Democrat, and even staunch Democrats are frustrated with their own party. Pinkston is energized about working with the Working Families Party and the Forward Party to build toward a more moderate, genuinely competitive two-party system, argues this is the strongest group of independent candidates to run in years, and wonders aloud whether being "too educated" has perversely become a negative quality in a candidate. She closes with a sharp observation that cuts to the heart of the whole project: Americans demand more than two options for literally everything in their lives except politics, politicians increasingly rely on performance over substance, and the stakes couldn't be higher.
Finally, Chuck updates his ToddCast Top 5 list of senate seats most likely to flip parties and answers listeners’ questions in the “Ask Chuck” segment.
Predict the action all the way through the finals. Sign up now for your twenty-five dollar bonus on https://fanduel.com/predicts
Link in bio or go to https://getsoul.com & enter code TODDCAST for 30% off your first order.
Protect your family with life insurance from Ethos. Get up to $3 million in coverage in as little as 10 minutes at https://ethos.com/chuck. Application times may vary. Rates may vary.
Timeline:
(Timestamps may vary based on advertisements)
00:00 Chuck Todd’s introduction
03:15 Graham Platner cruised to victory will Janet Mills still on the ballot
04:15 Platner comfortably cleared 70%, it’s not a five alarm fire
05:45 Will there be more scandals from Platner? If so, what type?
06:30 For some primary voters, high character is a luxury item
08:15 The Democratic base is tired of losing & capitulating to establishment
08:45 A Platner election victory could change perception of the Democrats
10:30 Maine has gotten bluer since the last time Collins was on the ballot
11:30 Harris underperformed nationally, but had more raw vote in Maine than Biden
13:30 How many Dems will sit out the race rather than vote for Platner?
15:00 A generic Dem should win this race by 6-7 points
16:00 Lindsey Graham manages to avoid a runoff
16:45 South Carolina GOP gubernatorial race headed to runoff
17:15 Nancy Mace and Ralph Norman didn’t make the runoff
18:30 Everybody running in 2026 is running on a message of change
19:30 There’s no message of restoration similar to Biden’s campaign
20:30 Messaging is more future focused, the opposite of Trump
21:30 The worst first name to have in politics is congressman
24:45 Washington experience won’t carry value to voters this cycle
26:00 GOP voters still seemingly reward confrontation
27:00 Dem primary voters looking to electability/consensus candidates
28:45 Dem turnout on the rise, GOP turnout stagnant or down
29:30 For a decade, voters are demanding major change
36:45 Lauren Pinkston joins the Chuck ToddCast
37:45 Why run for governor as an independent?
39:00 There’s a lack of two party competition in Tennessee
40:45 Some of the barriers for an insurgent candidacy have been removed
42:45 Citizen’s United was a big reason for TN becoming uncompetitive
43:30 Lauren was raised to feel that voting Dem meant going to hell
45:30 Politics has courted the evangelical vote & leaders for decades
46:15 Jimmy Carter’s pure faith made it harder for him to govern
47:00 Churches teach nationalism & that America was ordained by god
48:00 Founders specifically didn’t put christianity & religion into the constitution
49:00 Lauren lived in communist Laos, where people were persecuted for their faith
50:00 The mechanical difficulties of running as an independent
51:15 Businesses afraid to support a non-Republican candidate in TN
52:45 Democratic opponent has been receiving calls to drop out
54:00 Any chance Marsha Blackburn isn’t the GOP nominee?
54:45 Blackburn isn’t as strong of a candidate as she thinks she is
55:15 Three leading candidates are white women with colors in their name
56:45 What big ideas are you proposing that you hope stick with voters?
57:15 Want to reform education and make it a fun field for teachers to work
58:45 Nashville gets all the political support and Memphis gets neglected
59:30 Crime is at a 20 year low in Memphis, but it still doesn’t get investment
1:00:30 St. Jude struggling to recruit due to denial of H1-B visas
1:01:00 How would you govern with a Republican stranglehold on the statehouse?
1:01:45 State constitution doesn’t even allow for ballot measures
1:02:30 Need to invest in Chief Information Officers are the county level
1:04:00 Attracting support from disaffected Democrats and Republicans
1:06:30 There’s a deep history of good governance out of east Tennessee
1:07:45 Need leaders and not party puppets
1:08:45 GOP leadership in the state has kicked moderate candidates off the ballot
1:09:45 Republicans in the state are looking for an offramp that isn’t a Democrat
1:10:15 What does your winning coalition look like?
1:12:30 Can you succeed without winning?
1:13:00 Want to give people an onramp to political engagement
1:14:15 Excited about working with WFP and Forward Party
1:14:45 Want to create a more moderate two party system
1:16:30 Strongest group of independent candidates running in years
1:17:30 Possible that being too educated will be a negative quality in a candidate
1:19:00 Voter turnout is pretty low in both Nashville and Memphis
1:20:45 Even the most staunch Democrats are frustrated with their party
1:22:00 It will be hard to get either opponent to agree to a debate
1:24:00 People demand more than two options for everything except politics
1:26:00 Politicians rely more on performance now than substance
1:27:45 People will die if governing isn’t taken seriously
1:29:15 Lack of competition in one party states isn’t good for democracy
1:30:30 Independents have better chance to win in one party states
1:32:30 ToddCast Top 5 senate seats most likely to flip
1:33:45 More senate seats are creeping to “in play” status
1:36:00 #1 North Carolina
1:37:45 #2 Ohio
1:40:45 #3 Michigan
1:44:15 #4 Iowa
1:47:15 #5 Maine
1:52:15 Ask Chuck
1:52:30 Could politicians' investments be limited by law to index funds?
1:54:15 Correction on Jeri Ryan’s Star Trek series
1:55:45 If candidates like Platner and El-Sayed lose, could progressives change course?
2:01:45 Will Trump’s disciples try to be too much like him once he leaves politics?
2:05:30 Are you seeing a real shift in coverage from CBS News?
2:10:45 Thoughts on Brendan Soresby being reinstated after gambling on himself
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chuck Todd opens with an uncomfortable truth Republicans are doing everything possible to avoid acknowledging: Trump turns 80 next week, his physical and mental decline is increasingly visible to anyone paying attention, and the GOP is now repeating exactly the same mistake Democrats made by ignoring Joe Biden's obvious deterioration. The cruelest irony: Trump literally built his entire 2024 campaign on the premise that his opponent was too old and too sleepy to do the job, but Biden's catastrophic debate finally broke the Democratic silence in a way the GOP shows no signs of replicating. Chuck argues Trump's behavior isn't unusual for an 80-year-old — it's deeply unusual for an American president. He warns that Senate Republicans made an enormous mistake by not killing the weaponization fund, that every GOP incumbent up for reelection is now vulnerable to extremely effective attack ads, and that acting DNI Bill Pulte is almost certainly holding that position illegally — the courts will probably step in to declare him ineligible.
He previews Tuesday's primaries in Maine and South Carolina, where Lindsey Graham looks genuinely vulnerable, and notes that if Graham gets forced into a runoff, history says he's in real trouble. He's watching how much protest vote Janet Mills picks up in Maine, and on Graham Platner — who has been saying that the war "messed him up" — Chuck offers a pointed observation: just because behavior is explainable doesn't always make it excusable.He closes with a sharp analysis of the Scott Pelley firing at 60 Minutes, arguing the real story isn't Pelley at all — it's the Ellisons, who are using 60 Minutes as a bargaining chip with Trump to get their Paramount merger approved. He believes 60 Minutes is a symbol with massive brand equity, and Trump wants to bring it to heel or topple it altogether.
Finally, Chuck hops into the ToddCast Time Machine to revisit the infamous quote “Have you no sense of decency” from the Army/McCarthy hearings, why McCarthy was one of the first American politicians to master the attention economy, and why that famous quote precipitated the decline of McCarthy’s influence. He also answers listeners’ questions in the “Ask Chuck” segment.
Predict the action all the way through the finals. Sign up now for your twenty-five dollar bonus on https://fanduel.com/predicts
Link in bio or go to https://getsoul.com & enter code TODDCAST for 30% off your first order.
Protect your family with life insurance from Ethos. Get up to $3 million in coverage in as little as 10 minutes at https://ethos.com/chuck. Application times may vary. Rates may vary.
Timeline:
(Timestamps may vary based on advertisements)
00:00 Chuck Todd’s introduction
05:30 Trump turns 80 in a week. Plans on celebrating himself with UFC fight
06:30 You can tell that Trump is not doing well physically/mentally
07:30 Republicans ignoring Trump’s decline like Dems did with Biden
10:00 Trump won’t do events where he has to stand, he sits now
11:30 Trump’s staff has been padding his schedule with private meetings
12:30 Trump built his campaign on premise his opponent was too old & sleepy
13:15 Biden’s debate broke the Dems silence, GOP hasn’t done same with Trump
14:30 Trump has influence and pull over his party that Biden didn’t
15:15 Trump’s behavior isn’t unusual for an 80 year, is unusual for a POTUS
16:00 Reinforces public perception that parties will say/defend anything for power
19:00 This will add to the credibility problems for the Republican party
19:30 Senate Republicans made huge mistake not killing the weaponization fund
20:15 Every Republican up for reelection is now vulnerable to easy attack ads
21:15 It’s probably illegal for Bill Pulte to hold the acting DNI position
23:00 Courts will likely step in to declare Pulte ineligible for position
25:30 Major primaries coming up on Tuesday including ME & SC
26:45 Lindsey Graham is vulnerable in South Carolina
27:45 Christian conservative right has always been skeptical of Graham
28:45 Outsiders have been ousting incumbents across the country
30:15 Since the Tea Party, GOP base has gone against the establishment
32:30 The anti-war vote will have qualms with Trump & Graham
33:15 Graham’s career is defined by being a political weathervane
35:00 If Graham is forced into a runoff, history says he’s in trouble
35:30 Will be interesting to see how much protest vote Janet Mills gets in ME
36:15 Platner says war messed him up… does he have the temperament for the job?
37:45 Just because behavior is explainable, doesn’t always make it excusable
38:15 Platner is in “save his campaign” mode
39:30 Bad actors will exploit California’s slow ballot counting process
40:30 Counting process requires people have faith in it, slowness hurts credibility
42:00 California has a duty to make citizens confident in the election
44:00 Thoughts on changes at 60 Minutes and Scott Pelley’s firing
44:30 Too much focus on Pelley and not enough on the Ellisons
45:00 Publicly traded media companies have all folded to & appeased Trump
47:30 Companies have a responsibility to shareholders, bad for news integrity
48:30 60 Minutes is a symbol, and Trump wants to bring it to heel/topple it
49:30 We don’t know the politics of the Ellisons, but they want their merger approved
50:30 Ellison’s know one 60 Minutes piece Trump dislikes could blow up merger
51:45 Bari Weiss is being used… is she comfortable being used?
53:00 Scott Pelley has the money to speak out and fight back
54:00 Journalists that stayed hoping to weather the storm & wait for new management
55:15 60 Minutes has incredible brand equity and is being gutted for the merger
56:45 The story is the Ellisons using 60 Minutes as a bargaining chip
1:02:15 ToddCast Time Machine - June 9th, 1954
1:02:45 “Have you no sense of decency?” quote becomes famous
1:03:30 Quote came during the Army/McCarthy hearings
1:04:00 The famous line didn’t end McCarthyism
1:04:45 The myth is that McCarthy created the Red Scare… he did not
1:05:30 The Cold War was not a distant abstraction, people were worried
1:06:00 McCarthy didn’t create the wave… he was surfing it
1:07:15 Mass media was growing in America and sped up the information wars
1:08:00 McCarthy understood media and how to create anticipation
1:09:30 McCarthy mastered the politics of attention, his and Trump’s mentor was Roy Cohn
1:11:30 The fear of communism still existed, but public confidence in McCarthy eroded
1:12:30 Television exposed McCarthy in a way quotes and newspapers couldn’t
1:14:00 Army/McCarthy hearings started as a personnel dispute for Roy Cohn ally
1:15:30 There were multiple institutions moving against McCarthy
1:16:30 Army chief counsel Joseph Welch spoke the infamous line
1:17:00 Welch gave words to a conclusion Americans were reaching on their own
1:19:45 Ask Chuck
1:20:00 When will congress actually hold cabinet members accountable?
1:26:45 Thoughts on DHS pulling CBP from sanctuary city airports?
1:30:45 Navigating the tension between voting for and against a candidate?
1:36:45 Thoughts on Democrats proposing a national gerrymandering ban?
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chuck Todd opens with an uncomfortable truth Republicans are doing everything possible to avoid acknowledging: Trump turns 80 next week, his physical and mental decline is increasingly visible to anyone paying attention, and the GOP is now repeating exactly the same mistake Democrats made by ignoring Joe Biden's obvious deterioration. The cruelest irony: Trump literally built his entire 2024 campaign on the premise that his opponent was too old and too sleepy to do the job, but Biden's catastrophic debate finally broke the Democratic silence in a way the GOP shows no signs of replicating. Chuck argues Trump's behavior isn't unusual for an 80-year-old — it's deeply unusual for an American president. He warns that Senate Republicans made an enormous mistake by not killing the weaponization fund, that every GOP incumbent up for reelection is now vulnerable to extremely effective attack ads, and that acting DNI Bill Pulte is almost certainly holding that position illegally — the courts will probably step in to declare him ineligible.
He previews Tuesday's primaries in Maine and South Carolina, where Lindsey Graham looks genuinely vulnerable, and notes that if Graham gets forced into a runoff, history says he's in real trouble. He's watching how much protest vote Janet Mills picks up in Maine, and on Graham Platner — who has been saying that the war "messed him up" — Chuck offers a pointed observation: just because behavior is explainable doesn't always make it excusable.He closes with a sharp analysis of the Scott Pelley firing at 60 Minutes, arguing the real story isn't Pelley at all — it's the Ellisons, who are using 60 Minutes as a bargaining chip with Trump to get their Paramount merger approved. He believes 60 Minutes is a symbol with massive brand equity, and Trump wants to bring it to heel or topple it altogether.
Then, David French — New York Times columnist, veteran constitutional attorney, and one of the sharpest legal thinkers writing today — joins the Chuck Toddcast for a riveting conversation about how the legal system is straining to handle a world being remade by AI, an out-of-control executive branch, and the slow erosion of America's basic constitutional architecture. French opens with the chilling case the Florida Attorney General has now brought against OpenAI in connection with the Florida State University shooter, who asked ChatGPT how to disengage his weapon's safety just three minutes before opening fire. French argues that if ChatGPT had been a human person, it would unquestionably have been charged as a co-conspirator — humans get prosecuted for encouraging suicide all the time — and that when ChatGPT is speaking, OpenAI is legally speaking, full stop. He walks through the murky liability questions the law is now scrambling to answer: Google Search has never been held to the same standard as ChatGPT, but ChatGPT actively generates new speech rather than just pointing users to existing content, and French argues that litigation needs to function as a meaningful deterrent rather than mere compensation — though ultimately Congress is going to have to actually legislate AI regulation rather than leave the entire field to civil lawsuits.
The conversation turns to what French sees as a more immediate constitutional crisis: Trump's blanket immunity for tax violations and the "anti-weaponization" slush fund scheme, both of which French argues are flatly indefensible on legal grounds. He explains the deeper problem — Trump suing his own government creates a fiction of an adversarial proceeding when there isn't actually one, and Trump cares far more about the liability shield than the slush fund itself, because he's trying to remove himself from the operation of the law in essentially the same way a king would. The pardon power only covers federal crimes, not civil offenses, and Congress has clear authority to stop this if it had the will. French offers several concrete reforms: require congressional approval for legal settlements above a certain dollar threshold, force members of Congress to obtain a certification in the Constitution itself, and that political parties should perform comprehensive background checks for their candidates, On the question of whether the Founders intended a Christian nation, French is unequivocal: they didn't, and Madison rebuked Christian nationalism explicitly. The deeper structural problem behind the DOJ's loss of credibility is the unitary executive theory itself — Article II of the Constitution is dangerously vague, the executive was never meant to be a co-equal branch (Congress was supposed to be most powerful), and the only durable fix may require constitutional reform to formally remove the DOJ from executive control. French closes on a hopeful note: after every dark period in American history, the country has entered a major era of reform — and he believes one is coming again.
Finally, Chuck hops into the ToddCast Time Machine to revisit the infamous quote “Have you no sense of decency” from the Army/McCarthy hearings, why McCarthy was one of the first American politicians to master the attention economy, and why that famous quote precipitated the decline of McCarthy’s influence. He also answers listeners’ questions in the “Ask Chuck” segment.
Predict the action all the way through the finals. Sign up now for your twenty-five dollar bonus on https://fanduel.com/predicts
Link in bio or go to https://getsoul.com & enter code TODDCAST for 30% off your first order.
Protect your family with life insurance from Ethos. Get up to $3 million in coverage in as little as 10 minutes at https://ethos.com/chuck. Application times may vary. Rates may vary.
Timeline:
(Timestamps may vary based on advertisements)
00:00 Chuck Todd’s introduction
05:30 Trump turns 80 in a week. Plans on celebrating himself with UFC fight
06:30 You can tell that Trump is not doing well physically/mentally
07:30 Republicans ignoring Trump’s decline like Dems did with Biden
10:00 Trump won’t do events where he has to stand, he sits now
11:30 Trump’s staff has been padding his schedule with private meetings
12:30 Trump built his campaign on premise his opponent was too old & sleepy
13:15 Biden’s debate broke the Dems silence, GOP hasn’t done same with Trump
14:30 Trump has influence and pull over his party that Biden didn’t
15:15 Trump’s behavior isn’t unusual for an 80 year, is unusual for a POTUS
16:00 Reinforces public perception that parties will say/defend anything for power
19:00 This will add to the credibility problems for the Republican party
19:30 Senate Republicans made huge mistake not killing the weaponization fund
20:15 Every Republican up for reelection is now vulnerable to easy attack ads
21:15 It’s probably illegal for Bill Pulte to hold the acting DNI position
23:00 Courts will likely step in to declare Pulte ineligible for position
25:30 Major primaries coming up on Tuesday including ME & SC
26:45 Lindsey Graham is vulnerable in South Carolina
27:45 Christian conservative right has always been skeptical of Graham
28:45 Outsiders have been ousting incumbents across the country
30:15 Since the Tea Party, GOP base has gone against the establishment
32:30 The anti-war vote will have qualms with Trump & Graham
33:15 Graham’s career is defined by being a political weathervane
35:00 If Graham is forced into a runoff, history says he’s in trouble
35:30 Will be interesting to see how much protest vote Janet Mills gets in ME
36:15 Platner says war messed him up… does he have the temperament for the job?
37:45 Just because behavior is explainable, doesn’t always make it excusable
38:15 Platner is in “save his campaign” mode
39:30 Bad actors will exploit California’s slow ballot counting process
40:30 Counting process requires people have faith in it, slowness hurts credibility
42:00 California has a duty to make citizens confident in the election
44:00 Thoughts on changes at 60 Minutes and Scott Pelley’s firing
44:30 Too much focus on Pelley and not enough on the Ellisons
45:00 Publicly traded media companies have all folded to & appeased Trump
47:30 Companies have a responsibility to shareholders, bad for news integrity
48:30 60 Minutes is a symbol, and Trump wants to bring it to heel/topple it
49:30 We don’t know the politics of the Ellisons, but they want their merger approved
50:30 Ellison’s know one 60 Minutes piece Trump dislikes could blow up merger
51:45 Bari Weiss is being used… is she comfortable being used?
53:00 Scott Pelley has the money to speak out and fight back
54:00 Journalists that stayed hoping to weather the storm & wait for new management
55:15 60 Minutes has incredible brand equity and is being gutted for the merger
56:45 The story is the Ellisons using 60 Minutes as a bargaining chip
1:04:00 David French joins the Chuck ToddCast
1:05:30 Insurance companies & gambling companies have opposite incentives
1:08:00 States liberalized sports gambling and the public hasn’t liked it
1:09:45 Trying to regulate after the fact can be difficult
1:11:00 Common law concepts are starting to come into regulating AI
1:11:30 Florida AG has brought criminal case against OpenAI over FSU shooter
1:13:00 There has to always be human liability in AI cases
1:15:00 If ChatGPT was a human in FSU case, it would have be charged as co-conspirator
1:16:00 Shooter asked ChatGPT how to disengage the safety 3 mins before shooting
1:18:00 In Canadian school shooting, ChatGPT’s participation was overt
1:20:30 Determining liability is murky. Google search isn’t held to same standard as ChatGPT
1:22:00 Humans can be prosecuted for encouraging someone to commit suicide
1:23:15 There are circumstances where criminal liability could apply to AI
1:23:45 When ChatGPT is speaking, OpenAI is speaking
1:25:00 Litigation needs to be a deterrent, not just compensation for victims
1:27:30 We need to pass laws regulating AI, not just pressure via civil lawsuits
1:28:45 How is blanket immunity for Trump tax violations remotely legal?
1:29:45 Congress’s job to stop weaponization fund & Trump IRS immunity
1:30:45 Legal system rests on an adversarial relationship in court cases
1:31:45 There’s no adversarial proceeding when Trump sues his own government
1:32:30 Trump cares more about liability shield than the slush fund
1:33:30 Pardon power only applies to federal crimes, not civil offenses. Can be sued
1:34:15 Trump is trying to remove himself from the operation of the law like a king
1:35:00 How can congress stop Trump’s DOJ from issuing these settlements?
1:36:45 Congress should have to approve settlements above a certain amount of $
1:38:30 Member of congress should have to get a certification in the constitution
1:39:45 Parties should force candidates to pass a comprehensive background check
1:41:00 Why aren’t state funded partisan primaries a violation of equal protection?
1:44:15 Partisan primaries are killing the political system
1:45:00 States can say that they’ll only fund open primaries
1:46:15 Campaign finance reforms and PACs have weakened party control
1:48:00 Did the founders intend for America to be a christian nation?
1:49:00 Founders were biblically literate, but not particularly devout
1:49:30 Founders intentionally did not create a christian nation
1:50:30 Madison argued against paying clergy with tax dollars
1:51:15 Madison rebuked christian nationalism and immigration restriction
1:53:45 DOJ has lost credibility, how can we separate the DOJ from the executive?
1:54:30 Problems with DOJ are downstream from the unitary executive theory
1:55:30 Article II of the constitution is vague and inexplicit
1:56:45 After dark period, America enters periods of reform, which we badly need
1:58:45 Never supposed to be co-equal branches. Congress should have most power
1:59:30 Have to remove executive’s ability to claw power to the top
2:00:30 Would likely need constitutional reform to pull DOJ out of executive branch
2:03:00 Past congressional leaders wouldn’t voluntarily cede power
2:04:45 In late 80’s - early 90’s, congress was incentivized to compromise
2:05:30 Changes to college basketball in one-and-done and NIL era
2:07:00 Transfer portal has created a new form of one-and-done
2:08:45 NBA can only improve regular season by reducing the 82 games
2:10:15 Regular season NBA games are more intense than 30 years ago
2:13:45 ToddCast Time Machine - June 9th, 1954
2:14:15 “Have you no sense of decency?” quote becomes famous
2:15:00 Quote came during the Army/McCarthy hearings
2:15:30 The famous line didn’t end McCarthyism
2:16:15 The myth is that McCarthy created the Red Scare… he did not
2:17:00 The Cold War was not a distant abstraction, people were worried
2:17:30 McCarthy didn’t create the wave… he was surfing it
2:18:45 Mass media was growing in America and sped up the information wars
2:19:30 McCarthy understood media and how to create anticipation
2:21:00 McCarthy mastered the politics of attention, his and Trump’s mentor was Roy Cohn
2:23:00 The fear of communism still existed, but public confidence in McCarthy eroded
2:24:00 Television exposed McCarthy in a way quotes and newspapers couldn’t
2:25:30 Army/McCarthy hearings started as a personnel dispute for Roy Cohn ally
2:27:00 There were multiple institutions moving against McCarthy
2:28:00 Army chief counsel Joseph Welch spoke the infamous line
2:28:30 Welch gave words to a conclusion Americans were reaching on their own
2:31:15 Ask Chuck
2:31:30 When will congress actually hold cabinet members accountable?
2:38:15 Thoughts on DHS pulling CBP from sanctuary city airports?
2:42:15 Navigating the tension between voting for and against a candidate?
2:48:15 Thoughts on Democrats proposing a national gerrymandering ban?
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